why aren’t you a genius?

your brain is like a computer that is constantly receiving input and broadcasting output. the value of the input and output is determined largely by your vocabulary, or the number of words you understand. if your vocabulary is small, then the value of input is largely decreased because you probably don’t understand what you are receiving. also, if you have a small vocabulary the quality of your output is going to suffer greatly as well.

it is widely accepted that vocabulary is directly tied to intelligence. the larger your functional vocabulary is, the more intelligent you are likely to be because the understanding of linguistic context is embedded in how we define words. if you didn’t understand that sentence my point has been made.

genius, however, is a different sack of nuts altogether. contrary to popular belief, genius is not about how intelligent you are, but the connections you are able to make between situations that may appear to be unrelated. for example, developing an understanding of international social dynamics through your world of warcraft addiction is a connection that would not be readily apparent.

the individuals that are able to make these connections frequently, and use them to the benefit of themselves or humanity, are what history will refer to as geniuses. the question then becomes, do you have to be born a genius or is it something that can be developed.

i don’t have the answer to the question, but it is my suspicion that genius can be developed through an the application of philosophical processes and associative thinking. some people do this better than others. my mind has a tendency to wander from subject to subject looking for the connections between them, usually in the interest of making a joke that nobody will understand, and therefore make me look like a weirdo.

other people may have to work at it harder. it might have to feel like work, which is why so few people probably consciously make the effort, which is why we have come to believe that a genius must be born.

the ultimate question is now, though, that if you think genius can be actively developed, are you in some way morally or intellectually responsible to apply your own brain to making the connection of genius that will one day be regarded from the pages of history?

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